1 John 3:11-18

English Standard Version

Love One Another

¹¹For ^(A)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(B)that we should love one another. ¹²We should not be like ^(C)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(D)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³Do not be surprised, brothers,^[a] ^(E)that the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that ^(F)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ¹⁵^(G)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(H)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶By this we know love, that ^(I)he laid down his life for us, and ^(J)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But ^(K)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(L)closes his heart against him, ^(M)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸Little children, let us not ^(N)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(O)in truth.

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Footnotes

1 John 3:13 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 14, 16